One of the first steps you take when you are estimating your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

In Santa Barbara you can estimate when it's a good idea to plant anise by reviewing the USDA zone info.

Planting Calendar for Anise

Frost tolerance for anise:	Tolerant of a very small amount of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 3 weeks before last frost.

Anise do well in very little cold which tells us that you can plant them slightly earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

The earliest that you can plant anise in Santa Barbara is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant anise and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your anise may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your anise indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Santa Barbara the average date of last frost happens on January 31. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of 30°F.

Since the USDA zone info for Santa Barbara is an average the actual date of last frost can change quite a bit from year to year. Half of the time in Santa Barbara there is a last frost after January 31 so make sure that you are prepared to cover your anise if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Santa Barbara

Here is the info for USDA Zone 10a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	January 31
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	December 15
Lowest Expected Low	30°F
Highest Expected Low	35°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 35°F.

Plants to Grow in Santa Barbara

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Santa Barbara.